RotoAuthority Rumors

RotoAuthority was my first website, launched in June 2005. The site was brimming with fantasy baseball analysis, usually off the beaten path. My posts became sporadic as MLBTR grew, so in recent times I've recruited a team to ensure regular, high-quality content. The group includes Alex Steers McCrum, Mark Polishuk, Andrew Gephardt, and Luckey Helms. We'll be covering everything you need to win your mixed league, including sleepers, busts, rankings, average draft position, and projections. Our newest posts:

Giancarlo Stanton or Bryce Harper in the first round? Mark Polishuk tells you which young slugger to take.

Is Michael Wacha the right choice to lead your fantasy team's rotation? I answered that question and took a look at a slew of other phenom starters.

The outdated $8 magazines are in stores now, which can only mean one thing: fantasy baseball is around the corner. Our crack team at RotoAuthority will guide you to certain victory, with such recent articles as:

Did you finish last in your fantasy baseball league last year? Maybe it's because your leaguemates started preparing in January, and you didn't! Redeem yourself by checking out our fantasy baseball site RotoAuthority, which is already up and running with tons of great stuff:

In the new Go Bold or Go Home series, Alex Steers McCrum tells us why you should draft Mike Trout first overall and Stephen Strasburg in the first round.

Now is the time for fantasy baseball drafts, and perhaps our fantasy site RotoAuthority.com can you give a few sleeper ideas. Catch the latest articles via Twitter and Facebook; here are a few examples:

It's time to start preparing for fantasy baseball drafts, at the expense of your friends and loved ones. Instead of throwing down $8 on a magazine that was written in December, why not check out the latest at our sister site RotoAuthority?

Fantasy baseball's most disappointing players from 2011 offer all kinds of bargains this year. Check out my list of unpopular names you should consider.

My wife will tell you that the only thing nerdier than a fantasy draft is a practice fantasy draft. Nonetheless, much of the RotoAuthority crew participated in a mock draft last week, and here is Dan Mennella's analysis.

Four years ago today, the Cubs signed Starlin Castro as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. He became the team's starting shortstop in May at the age of 20, debuting with a .300/.347/.408 performance. Links for Monday:

Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times reveals quotes from Mariners president Chuck Armstrong from six weeks after the Cliff Lee trade. Armstrong said that when talks with the Yankees stalled, the White Sox, Twins, and Rangers were among the teams to get involved.

Patrick Newman of FanGraphs looks at the repertoire of starter Hisashi Iwakuma, who will be posted by the Rakuten Golden Eagles. The righty, 30 in April, excels at limiting home runs. Newman estimates a posting fee in the $10MM range plus a contract of four years and $20MM.

Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider examines Washington's 2011 payroll commitments and finds that they will have less than $50MM committed. He doesn't know if they'll bump payroll to the $80MM range, but if so they could be big offseason spenders. For MLBTR's look at the Nationals' twelve arbitration eligible players, click here.

Ben Nicholson-Smith wrote a compelling piece yesterday for MLBTR examining Jose Bautista's upcoming arbitration case. Today at RotoAuthority.com, we attempt to predict Bautista's 2011 home run total through the wisdom of ten top baseball writers, including Peter Gammons, Ken Rosenthal, Jon Heyman, and Buster Olney. Click here to see their predictions.